Leadership Council on Legal Diversity Announces 2013 Fellows

Largest Class Ever for Landmark LCLD Program; Building Relationships and Leadership Skills

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD) is proud to announce that 160 mid-level attorneys have been selected as 2013 LCLD Fellows, joining the classes of 2011 and 2012 as participants in one of most comprehensive legal talent development programs in the country. This is the largest class of Fellows yet for LCLD. The class of 2011 numbered 119; the class of 2012 grew to 136.

“All of us are eager for results, and will persist until we see real changes in the makeup of the leadership of the profession.”

With 215 Members, LCLD is a national organization made up of the General Counsel and Managing Partners of the leading corporations and law firms in the country. Launched in 2011, the LCLD Fellows program is an ambitious, highly structured initiative designed to increase diversity at the leadership levels of the nation’s law firms and corporate legal departments.

“These Fellows represent some of the most promising talent in the legal profession,” said Wally Martinez, LCLD Chair and Managing Partner of Hunton & Williams LLP. “They’ve been singled out for leadership by the organizations they serve, and represent a broad spectrum of diverse backgrounds.”

LCLD’s Fellows program was developed under the leadership of its Talent Development Committee, led by Chair Deborah Majoras (Chief Legal Officer and Secretary, Procter & Gamble) and Vice Chair Gary Sasso (President and CEO, Carlton Fields PA). Over the course of the year-long program, each participant will be challenged to improve their professional brand, build relationships that enhance professional development, participate in corporate learning experiences, and sharpen stewardship and leadership skills.

“These talented individuals, already recognized within their own organizations, will experience a year of intensive professional development,” said Robert Grey, Executive Director of LCLD. “The Fellows program is unique in the nation, as it focuses on equipping participants with the advanced skills they need to play larger and more responsible roles in our Member organizations.”

The Fellows initiative is one of several launched by LCLD since the organization’s founding in 2009. Other programs include a national mentoring initiative involving over 2,000 mentors and mentees, a 1L LCLD Scholars program involving over 200 first-year law students, and special programming for Members through CLE presentations.

“We are lucky to have an extraordinarily energetic and ambitious membership and board of directors,” said Grey. “All of us are eager for results, and will persist until we see real changes in the makeup of the leadership of the profession.”

For more information on LCLD, please contact Joe Slay at [e-mail] or visit: www.lcldnet.org.